Knox County Sheriff's deputies in Knoxville served a search warrant and seized computer and other evidence Friday from the home of 33-year-old Adam Eugene Cox.

They say Cox was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant for assault and is being investigated as a suspect in an October online threat on Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., and his family.

Arpaio's office says Cox's postings show he's an avid supporter of President Barack Obama and that Arpaio's ongoing investigation into the legitimacy of Obama's birth certificate may be behind the threat.

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies previously traveled to California, where search warrants were served on Google headquarters, and then to Knoxville. It's unclear whether Cox has a lawyer.